So for the longest time I’ve always thought that 12 in series 8 and in series 9 seem very different, and how interesting it would be to see how he softens, at least a little, during that gap. So for literal years I’ve had a document on my phone with 6 titles for a short miniseries of fics I probably won’t ever write, that I’ve dubbed series 8b. This is set between The Doctor kind of leaving Clara but not really at the end of Last Christmas, and travelling full time with her in The Magician’s Apprentice. Though could easily be set between Death in Heaven and Last Christmas instead.
Took a lot of inspiration from 6 and Evelyn’s run with the idea of an older companion who won’t take nonsense helping soften The Doctor. And each story here I envision being two to four parts, almost like a classic serial. I haven’t fleshed them out past synopses. Why Grace for the companion? I just like the idea of an older Grace having to see a very different Doctor from the 8 she knew.
Amazing Grace
Retired surgeon turned consultant Grace Holloway dreams of the stars. She has, ever since that day she met the mysterious stranger she fell in love with, whose offer she refused. Almost 20 years later, when a new surgeon with no bedside manner transfers to the hospital, she’ll get what she’s wished for whether she’s ready or not…
(Note: I envision 12, feeling a little lost without Clara, deciding to spend New Year in LA as he feels weirdly nostalgic. But then finds himself investigating an alien threat at the hospital, where he meets Grace mid investigation)
Enemy: Something new
The Hollow Planet
It’s Grace’s first trip to another world! But as the TARDIS interrupts one of humanity’s first trips for a rare material in another system, the poisonous gas in the mines of this strange planet pose a threat to the mission. And why does this gas seem so unnatural? What is it for? And can The Doctor save humanity not only from the gas and the planet, but the mysterious life forms living inside?
Enemy: The Macra
Doctor Who and the Mechanical Man
Travelling to the 1862 London International Exhibition, The Doctor and Grace discover a madcap scientist and his new invention: the world’s first mechanical man! But why is The Doctor so on edge? And why does he insist that this creation is something called a Cyberman, or something akin to it?
(Note: there are no Cybermen in this story and it’s played more as a light one, with a time travelling robot/android that is just very Cyberman-esque initially)
Enemy: None it was a misunderstanding
Frozen in Stone
What happens when a weeping angel enters the TARDIS? As the Eye of Harmony drains and power begins to cut out; The Doctor and Grace must fight both to navigate the TARDIS and also to kick the angel out…
Enemy: Weeping Angel
The Twin Doctors
The cloister bell rings as two TARDISes land in the same spot in time and space. How did this happen, and why did this happen!? And Grace can’t help but question who this mysterious man in a loud multicolour coat is claiming to be yet another Doctor…
(Note: 6/12 Multidoctor story. Both still in healing curmudgeon part of their timeline. 6 probably travelling with Evelyn)
Enemy: Something new that the two have to team up against
The Shadow of Omega
In the deep parts of space, an old figure revived by The Time Lords to help win the war has awakened after fleeing and biding his time for revenge. Now that they’re lost, he must target the only one he knows definitively remains. And this time, Omega will not lose.
Enemy: Omega
At some point I’d also love to do a series 9b, but other than a MacQueen Master story for that I don’t have ideas at the moment.
